--- name: wa-county-courts description: > This skill should be used when drafting or filing civil documents in a Washington county court other than King County District Court — i.e., the district courts (and, secondarily, the superior court clerks) of the state's most populous counties: Pierce (Tacoma), Snohomish (Everett / Lynnwood / Monroe / Arlington), Spokane, Clark (Vancouver), Thurston (Olympia), Kitsap (Port Orchard), Yakima, Whatcom (Bellingham), and Benton (Kennewick). Triggers include the county name plus "district court" / "superior court" / "where do I file" / "e-filing portal" / "LINX" / "local rules" / "civil motion calendar", or a case venued in one of those counties. For King County District Court use the dedicated `wa-kcdc` skill instead. Layer this on top of `wa-statewide-format`, and consult `wa-law-references` for the per-court LCR / LCRLJ local-rule text. version: 0.1.0 --- # Washington county courts (non-KCDC) Use this skill in addition to `wa-statewide-format` when a civil matter is venued in a Washington county **other than** King County District Court (which has its own skill, `wa-kcdc`). It covers the courts of limited jurisdiction — and the superior court clerks — of Washington's most populous counties. Most consumer-debt collection actions are filed in **district court** (courts of limited jurisdiction, up to a $100,000 amount in controversy under RCW 3.66.020; small claims up to $10,000). Larger matters, and some debt cases filed there by choice, go to **superior court**. This skill leads with the district court for each county and notes the superior court clerk where it differs. > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** This is a drafting and procedure aid. Court > addresses, division assignments, e-filing portals, civil-calendar days, > and local rules change without notice — verify every one against the > court's own page (and the Washington Courts directory) before relying > on it. Do not cache court-specific values across sessions. ## Canonical sources — pull current details every time For *any* county court, these are the authoritative starting points: - **Washington Courts directory** — `https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_dir/` — official address, phone, judges, and links for every court in the state. Use this to confirm a courthouse address or division before you put it in a caption. - **Local rules (LCR for superior courts, LCRLJ / LCR for district courts)** — the `https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/` page links out to "Superior Court Rules" / "District Court Rules" / "Municipal Court Rules", and *those* pages list the local-rule sets court by court; many courts also post their own local rules on their own site, and the clerk of court keeps the authoritative copy. Read the county's local rules for filing format, working-copy requirements, motion-confirmation deadlines, and the civil motion calendar. (Note: the in-repo `wa-law-references/references/court-rules/` corpus carries the **statewide** rule sets — CR, CRLJ, ER, GR, RAP, etc. — not the per-county local rules; pull those live.) - The **county court's own website** (linked from each entry below) for the live e-filing portal, current civil-calendar dates, and division-specific note/scheduling forms. **Agent behavior**: when you draft a caption, a note for a hearing, or a filing packet for one of these courts, fetch the current courthouse address, division assignment, e-filing instructions, and civil-calendar day from the sources above. Treat anything hardcoded in this skill as a pointer, not as ground truth. ## Caption — county-court variants District court (limited jurisdiction): ``` [COUNTY] COUNTY DISTRICT COURT[, [DIVISION] DIVISION] IN AND FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON ``` Superior court (general jurisdiction): ``` IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR [COUNTY] COUNTY ``` Confirm the exact division line (some districts have multiple physical divisions — see Snohomish below) from the court's website before filing, and put the cause number on the right side of the caption directly below "No." Cause-number formats vary by county and by case-management system; do not invent one — copy it from the summons/complaint you were served, or from the clerk's confirmation. ## County-by-county quick reference The detailed entries — courthouse addresses, divisions, e-filing portals, and known local-practice notes — live in `references/district-court-directory.md`. Summary: | County (≈2025 pop.) | District court seat | E-filing system | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | **King** (2.29M) | — | — | **Use the `wa-kcdc` skill.** | | **Pierce** (930k) | Tacoma | **LINX** (reached from `piercecountywa.gov/374/E-Filing`) — e-filing is mandatory under PCLGR 30 / PCLR 30 for most filers | Check the current civil motion docket / confirmation rule | | **Snohomish** (844k) | Everett (plus South/Lynnwood, Evergreen/Monroe, Cascade/Arlington divisions) | County e-filing portal | File in the **division** assigned to the case | | **Spokane** (549k) | Spokane (Public Safety Bldg) | County e-filing portal | — | | **Clark** (517k) | Vancouver | Clark County Odyssey/eFile portal | — | | **Thurston** (~300k) | Olympia (Building 3, Lakeridge Dr SW) | County e-filing portal | — | | **Kitsap** (~280k) | Port Orchard (614 Division St) | County e-filing portal | — | | **Yakima** (~258k) | Yakima (courthouse, 2nd St) + Grandview branch | County e-filing portal | Two physical locations | | **Whatcom** (~232k) | Bellingham (311 Grand Ave) | County e-filing portal | — | | **Benton** (~213k) | Kennewick | County e-filing / NCourt for fees | Benton & Franklin share a superior court | Population figures are from the Washington Office of Financial Management April 2025 estimates and are included only to scope "most populous" — they are not used for anything procedural. ## Filing workflow — what's the same everywhere Regardless of county, a noted civil motion in a Washington court of limited jurisdiction travels as a packet (this mirrors `wa-kcdc` and the `wa-file-packet` skill): 1. **Motion** (primary relief) 2. **Supporting memorandum** (only if the motion isn't self-contained) 3. **Supporting declaration(s)** with exhibits 4. **Proposed order** 5. **Note for civil motion calendar / docket** (the county's scheduling form — pull the current version from that court's site) 6. **Certificate / declaration of service** (CRLJ 5 in district court, CR 5 in superior court) E-file each as a separate PDF through that county's portal, serve opposing counsel the same day by a CRLJ 5 / CR 5 method, and check the county's local rules for whether **working copies** are required (superior courts usually require them; most district courts do not, but some do for longer motions). ## What's different — read the local rules Things that genuinely vary county to county, and where to find them: - **How you get a hearing date.** Some courts let you self-note onto a published civil calendar; others require an emailed date request to a calendar clerk first (KCDC-style). Check the county's local rules and civil-calendar page. - **Motion confirmation.** Many superior courts require the moving party to *confirm* a contested hearing a set number of days out, or it's struck. District courts vary. The county's LCR/LCRLJ says. - **E-filing mandate vs. option.** Pierce County mandates e-filing for most filers (PCLGR 30 / PCLR 30); others permit but don't require it. - **Division/venue within the county.** Snohomish County District Court has four physical divisions; file in the one assigned to the case. Yakima County District Court has a Yakima courthouse and a Grandview branch. - **Cause-number format and document codes.** Driven by the county's case-management system (LINX in Pierce, Odyssey/JIS elsewhere). Copy the format from the served pleadings or the clerk; don't construct one. When in doubt, the controlling text is that county's local rules — pull the current set from `https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/` (District / Superior / Municipal Court Rules link → court-by-court list) or the court's own site — read alongside the statewide CRLJ / CR (which *are* mirrored in `wa-law-references/references/court-rules/`). ## References - `references/district-court-directory.md` — per-county courthouse addresses, divisions, e-filing portals, official-page links, and known local-practice notes - `references/filing-and-service.md` — the cross-county packet, service, and working-copy checklist, with pointers into the statewide rules